Director Lance Oppenheim Secures Robert Pattinson for Lead Role in 'Primetime'

Lance Oppenheim said he convinced Robert Pattinson to take on the lead role of Chris Hansen in the upcoming film Primetime after initially approaching the actor as a producer. Oppenheim told Vulture that he leveraged Pattinson’s reported use of Zyn nicotine pouches, arranging for a shipment of 200 canisters from a Canadian contact to Pattinson’s Los Angeles residence. He accompanied the delivery with a script copy and a letter addressed to "Chris Han-Zyn," after which Pattinson agreed to star.

"It was like LeBron [James] making the announcement that he was joining the Heat," Oppenheim said.

Screenwriter Ajon Singh, who struggled to get the script read, said the involvement of Pattinson and his producing partner Brighton McCloskey was a turning point. Singh recalled that Pattinson’s interest grew after reviewing the script and researching the real-life Chris Hansen, noting the character’s “ineffable alchemy” and its cultural resonance.

"I watched a ton of the show, every episode of his podcast, every interview I could find," Pattinson told The Hollywood Reporter. "I knew from the first read of the script that the character in the movie was going to be a conceptual figure based on the public persona of ‘Chris Hansen’ as he’s been portrayed and perceived across all mediums and internet culture — a reconfigured egregore of sorts."

Primetime explores the production, ethical questions, and media attention surrounding the To Catch a Predator series, which aired from 2004 to 2007.